Bringing musical acts and fans together with the sounds of Dylan and Petty

“Nothing is better than someone who cares about the art that they are doing,” said Kenn Kweder, longtime southwest Philly rock ’n’ roller.

This speaks true to Kweder himself — and the band he will be opening up for next Friday, the Big Jangle.

On Friday, Jan. 25, the Big Jangle will be performing at Chaplin’s Music Café in Phoenixville. The Big Jangle, formed in 2010, is a tribute band dedicated to echoing the sound of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.

Lead singer Tony Mowen was recruited by the band in September of 2011 —Mowen was skeptical at first — he didn’t know if he wanted to become involved with a band — but the rest of the Big Jangle had a strong interest in bringing him aboard.

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“Vinnie and I have been friends for years; the band had already been formed and already playing and they were going to be losing their lead singer,” Mowen explained. “He called me up and said, ‘I know how much you love Petty; do you want to come up and play?’”

Mowen, in fact, is a passionate Tom Petty fan. He first saw Petty live while the artist was on the “Hard Promises” tour, at the Spectrum in July of 1981. So he did a jam session with the Big Jangle, and walked away very impressed.

“I was struck by their nuances and how they sounded like the Heartbreakers,” he said.

Realizing how talented the band was and focused on its craft, Mowen decided to join the Big Jangle, which currently consists of Mowen, Bert Kleinschmidt, Vinnie Martello, Art Noel, Andrew Owens and Brien Mick.

Since its formation, the band has played various shows in the Greater Philadelphia area. In the audience, Mowen says you’ll find people who may know Petty’s mega hits that you’ll hear on a classic rock station, but also some who are just as passionate about Petty as the band itself.

“We want to cover it all, incorporate and make a musical Tom Petty stew out of it with all the various ingredients,” he said. For example, “if you’re a B-side kind of guy, we’re going to throw in early Tom Petty.”

The band takes being a tribute band seriously; the members work to get the sound of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers down to a tee. Along with obviously listening to Petty’s musical discography, they’ll scour through live performances and bootlegs to make the sound as accurate as they can.

“The guys in our band are very fastidious about getting the guitar tones right,” he said. “Bert is just a wizard at getting tones and getting the right sounds.”

Before the band takes the stage, the audience should already be warmed up from the opening act, who will be doing a set of Bob Dylan songs.

Mowen and the band feel that having Kweder open with the Dylan set is the perfect fit — Petty has always cited Dylan as a major influence; likewise, many Petty fans also enjoy Dylan’s music.

“Dylan was a major force in the way he affected Tom Petty,” Mowen said. “Kenn is phenomenal in his approach to music and he’s got a great ear. He loves Dylan so much it was kind of like a no-brainer.”

“I grew up listening to what was considered great music of the ’60s — the Beatles, Dylan, Stones,” Kweder explained. “I was a basketball player and I realized that I wasn’t going to go too far. So I decided to pick up a guitar when I was 16 and emulate my heroes.”

A few years later, Kweder and his band, the Secret Kidds, were playing in various venues, coffeehouses and bars. Throughout his career, Kweder has played different places on South Street; he said he played what used to be J.C. Dobbs at least 400 times.

Kenn Kweder and the Secret Kidds was made up of a few friends from southwest Philly. Kweder was approached by record labels — he potentially could have made it to the next level, but it just never turned out that way. Kweder felt his sound would have been compromised to a sound that was not his own — writing simpler songs, changing around the Secret Kidds.

“When the big labels came to me, they kind of wanted to take me over,” he said. “I would have to sacrifice what I would consider the integrity.”

While he may not have made it big nationally and the Secret Kidds eventually stopped playing in the mid ’80s, Kweder is still going strong more than 30 years later. After playing with the Secret Kidds, he fronted bands with standout names such as the Radio Church of God, the Couch Dancers and the Men from P.O.V.I.C.H. He rarely takes an extended break and plays across the Greater Philadelphia area and parts of New Jersey.

“I’m rarely bored; I wake up every day thinking, ‘What am I going to do next?’”

He’s been performing for more than 30 years. What keeps him strong and successful?

“When I go onstage, I take everything serious. I perform and give 100 percent every time,” he said. “Not only do you have to be decent; a lot of it has to do with your people skills.”

When it comes to other aspiring artists, Kweder really appreciates when he comes across someone with passion.

“I try to encourage anyone that has a gleam in their eye to do something good with their life,” he said.

If you are a Bob Dylan fan, a Tom Petty fan or have an interest in both, the show on Jan. 25 at Chaplin’s is definitely one you won’t want to miss.

“What a great marriage to have Kenn come out and play some Dylan as an intro,” Mowen said.

This will be the first time both the Big Jangle and Kweder have performed at Chaplin’s, but the fourth time they’ve performed the same show.

If you can’t make it to the show on Jan. 25, the Big Jangle will also be performingon Friday, Feb. 22 at the Kennett Flash in Kennett Square, PA. For more info, visit www.thebigjangle.com